10-year-old girl survives shark attack off Australia’s east coast

SYDNEY, Australia – A 10-year-old girl was attacked by a shark off Australia’s east coast and suffered a serious injury to her hand, officials said Tuesday.

Paramedics were called to a beach at Lennox Head, 200 kilometres south of Brisbane, after receiving a report the girl had been bitten on the wrist, a spokeswoman for the New South Wales state ambulance service said.

Paramedics treated the girl at the scene and took her to a local hospital. She was in stable condition Tuesday evening.

Although sharks are common off Australia’s coast, the country averages fewer than two fatal attacks per year. Two men were killed in shark attacks off the east and west coasts in the space of a week in November last year; They were the only fatalities for 2013.